Australian terrorism threat at 2nd-highest level

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – The Australian government on Friday raised its terrorism threat level to the second-highest warning in response to the domestic threat posed by Islamic State movement supporters.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott (Pictured) announced the increase from “medium” to “high” on a four-tier scale on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

The domestic spy agency’s Director-General David Irvine said the threat had been rising over the past year, particularly in recent months, mainly due to Australians joining the Islamic State movement to fight in Syria and Iraq.

“I want to stress that this does not mean that a terror attack is imminent,” Abbott told reporters.